Published: June 17, 2016

Each year, the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) holds the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM). Sixty CU Boulder undergraduate students divided into twenty teams participated in the 2016 MCM and ICM. Students representing many majors partake in the competitions, which results in many interesting and diversified projects. Three Applied Math faculty members, Anne Dougherty, Bengt Fornberg, and Manuel Lladser, organized and advised the teams. The MCM “challenges teams of students to clarify, analyze, and propose solutions to open-ended problems” whereas the ICM is “designed to develop and advance interdisciplinary problem-solving skills as well as competence in written communication”.

Each team chose one problem out of three MCM problems and three ICM problems. They then had only ninety-six hours to research their problem, devise mathematic and numerical solutions, and write their reports. One MCM problem began by asking participants to develop a strategy for a person to maintain an even temperature throughout a bathtub. An ICM problem challenged students to develop a model to help improve access to clean water.

Out of the 12,446 teams who participated, CU Boulder was recognized for one Outstanding Team and the MAA Winner, five Meritorious, seven Honorable Mentions, and seven Successful Participants. Since 2000, CU Boulder teams have received a remarkable sixteen Outstanding designations. The names of the participants and the results can be found below:

team 1
Pictured from left to right: Anne Dougherty, Matthew Hurst, Jordan Dietsch, Nathan Yeo, Bengt Fornberg

Team: Jordan Deitsch, Matthew R Hurst, Nathan J Yeo
Result: Outstanding Winner, MAA Award

Team: Marc William Thomson, Derek Gorthy, Christine Reilly
Result: Meritorious

Team: Joseph Arehart, Nicolas Hunter Pinkowski, Scott Mason Wurst
Result: Meritorious

Team: Anne Cathryn Cox, Rebekah Haysley, Dante Pasionek
Result: Meritorious

Team: Andrew Hammond, Ryan Ibarra, Tyler Schuessler
Result: Meritorious

Team: Denis Kazakov, Evan Sidrow, Nicole Woytarowicz
Result: Meritorious

Team: Curtis Gile, Josh Jacobson, Michael Voeks
Result: Honorable Mention

Team: Jacob Melonis, Kelsey Pool, Erin Shimoda
Result: Honorable Mention

Team: Kaitlin A. Chapman, Brendan N. Culliton, Katherine A.
Result: Honorable Mention

Team: Ian Char, Derek Driggs, Ji Hoon Kim
Result: Honorable Mention

Team: Brendan Boyd, Ryan Blay, Sarah Burns
Result: Honorable Mention

Team: Nick Brubaker, Jean Nichole Hernandez, Stavros Roditis
Result: Honorable Mention

Team: Himanshi Singhal, Evan Roncevich, Yasser Abdullah Albarakat
Result: Honorable Mention

Team: Seth Hovestol, Audrey Randall, Izaak Broersma Weiss
Result:  Successful Participant

Team: Cooper Benson, Andrew Caleb Dudney, Matthew Patrick Haney
Result: Successful Participant

Team: Luke Meszar, Alexander Oliver, Justin Todd Willson
Result: Successful Participant

Team: Felix Michael Jimenez, Jonathan Wilder Lavington, Ryan Taylor Mustari 
Result: Successful Participant

Team: Grant J. Baker, Samuel Cuthbertson, Jeffrey M. Maierhofer
Result: Successful Participant

Team: Zachary Cole Britt, Ryan Edward Leonard, Rami Meharzi
Result: Successful Participant

Team: Yiran Zhang, Robert Holmes, Elizabeth Kane
Result: Successful Participant